The Delhi Government’s Anti Corruption Branch has arrested three persons, including Model Town AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi’s brother-in-law, his personal assistant, and another associate, for allegedly demanding `90 lakh for giving a party worker’s wife a ticket to contest in the MCD elections.
The ACB identified the arrested persons as Om Singh, Shiv Shankar Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi. Om is reportedly Tripathi’s brother-in-law while Pandey is his personal assistant, according to the ACB. The complainant, identified as Gopal Khari, alleged he had paid a bribe of `35 lakh on behalf of his wife Shobha, but she did not get a ticket in the end. The ACR laid the trap when the trio were about to return the money.
Reacting on the issue, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said “tickets are not sold in the AAPâ€.
“Tickets are not sold in AAP. Someone paid money for a ticket and money was taken... but the ticket was not sold. It makes it clear that no tickets are sold in AAP, I want an unbiased investigation in the matter...†Sisodia told reporters
According to a complaint filed before the ACB, Khari, who claimed to be associated with the AAP as an active worker since 2014, approached the ACB with the complaint.
Khari had met Model Town MLA Tripathi last Wednesday with a request to secure a councillor ticket from the AAP for his wife for Ward No. 69 in Kamla Nagar. Tripathi had demanded Rs 90 lakh for it, following which Khari had paid Rs 35 lakh to him. He also gave Rs 20 lakh to AAP MLA Rajesh Gupta on Tripathi’s insistence.
Khari had told Tripathi that the remaining amount would be paid by him after getting the ticket. But on Sunday, Khari didn’t find his wife’s name in the list of contesting councillors released by the AAP as the ticket from his ward was given to some other person.
Later, Tripathi’s brother-in-law, Om Singh, contacted Khari and assured him that the ticket would be given to him in the next election. Singh also offered to return the bribe amount.
After due verification, a team was constituted under the supervision of ACP Rajender Kumar. The team laid a trap at Khari’s residence where accused Om Singh and his associates Pandey alias Vishal Pandey and Raghuvanshi were caught red-handed in the presence of independent witnesses when they came to return Rs 33 lakhs out of total Rs 35 lakh received by them on behalf of Tripathi on the intervening night of November 15 and November 16.
A case has been registered under section 7/13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 171 (E) of the IPC against the trio. Pandey is the personal assistant of Tripathi.
The complainant has submitted audio and video recordings of his alleged dealings during payment and return of the bribe amount. An investigation is on to unearth the whole case and to collect evidence, it added.
